Last week the kids had spring break, and we wanted to get back to explore more of Oregon and see Portland, so it was the ideal time for a trip. We spent the first day in Hood River, OR. We visited one of Joe's favorite breweries, Full Sail, which sits just above the Columbia River, nestled among the flowering trees. It was a nice place with a killer view and good food. We enjoyed strolling along the little artsy-touristy shops and admiring the thoughtfully-tended parks and gardens as spring was bursting out all over.
Misty Mountain Hop
The next morning we went chasing waterfalls (*insert TLC joke here*) and were lucky to be out early enough on a weekday morning that there were no crowds, we even had Horsetail Falls all to ourselves! It's all very misty and mossy and lush, I felt like the trees might start speaking to me, or half-expected a little elf to appear and wish us well on our journey. (Hmm, maybe I've been reading too many fantasy books with the kids.)
 |
| Multnomah Falls |
The waterfall trails were probably the highlight of our trip!
From there we headed into Portland, just another hour or so, a great scenic drive along the way.
Portlandia!
We made our first stop at Powell's Books, and though could have spent a whole day there, spent a good two hours. It reminded me a lot of a bookstore version of San Fran's Amoeba records - not as cozy and interesting as a City Lights (also SF!) - but my, oh my, the books, books, and more books! It's more like exploring a book repository, which is totally good with me. I mostly stuck to the lower floor of kids books, to ogle over picture books, rare and vintage stuff, and keep track of the kids darting in and out of the aisles.Over the next two days, we rode the MAX, visited the Duck Store and the Beaver store, perused the Portland Saturday Market, hiked through Washington Park, and enjoyed some good unique meals and treats every step of the way. The kids were excited to go to Voodoo Doughnuts, (as seen on the Food Network) and I was happy to find Stumptown Coffee Roasters was just another block down AND sold baked goods from GEM and Petunia's Bakery, so everyone was happy.
My favorite was probably the lunch I had at the healthful fast food restaurant, Laughing Planet. It was so hard to choose, but I decided on the Bollywood bowl:
 |
| Waiting for the MAX light rail near PSU |
Of course, we had to make time for a little some serious basketball-watching, as well as some of this:
It was a fulfilling spring break trip, for a little R&R, urban culture, and some green therapy.
All in all, I think this might be the best way to sum up Oregon ;)
